1975-best

Gary Wright / The Dream Weaver – One and Done

More of the Music of Gary Wright

  • Outstanding sound throughout this vintage Warner Bros. pressing, with both sides earning Double Plus (A++) grades – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • Big, rich and full-bodied with lovely texture to the synths and relatively little grit – these are all qualities critically important to the sound of the better copies
  • One of only a handful of copies to hit the site in nearly two years – pressings with this kind of sound are tougher to come by than you might imagine
  • 4 stars: “Backed with only drums and a wide assortment of keyboards, Gary Wright crafted instantly recognizable tunes such as the title cut and ‘Love Is Alive,’ which caught on and remain staples of classic rock stations around the U.S. … Dream Weaver hasn’t lost any of its magic over time.”
  • If you’re a Gary Wright fan, or perhaps a fan of mid-70s synth-pop, this title, a personal favorite of mine from 1975, is surely a Must Own.
  • In our opinion, Dream Weaver is the only Gary Wright record you’ll ever need. Click on this link to see more titles we like to call one and done

Keyboards and More Keyboards

An all-keyboard pop record like this was a rarity at the time. The only other instruments besides drums (and one track with guitar) are keyboards. Every song is layered with multi-tracked clavinets, organs, and Moogs – it was a remarkable feat in 1975 to create an album with nothing but keys. Listen to the title track, the most dynamic song on the record, and you will hear just how well all of those stacked keyboards and synths work together. (Steve Winwood’s Back in the High Life borrowed a page or two from Gary’s solo debut here.)

(more…)

Fleetwood Mac – Self-Titled

More of the Music of Fleetwood Mac

  • This vintage copy of the band’s self-titled release boasts very good Hot Stamper sound from start to finish – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • It’s richer and fuller than the average copy, with notably more presence, and that will be especially true when you compare it to whatever godawful Heavy Vinyl pressing may be currently available
  • This is true of even our lowest-priced, lowest-graded copies – they are guaranteed to sound much better than any pressing you can find on the market today, as well as any pressing you may already own
  • A Rock and Pop Top 100 title – their best recording bar none
  • 5 stars: “Fleetwood Mac is a blockbuster album that isn’t dominated by its hit singles, and its album tracks demonstrate a depth of both songwriting and musicality that would blossom fully on Rumours.”

Until we started doing these shootouts, I had no idea this album was recorded so well. There are layers and layers of subtle instrumental textures and recording effects throughout this album that I never even knew were there.

We wish more copies in our shootout had that “jump out of the speakers” sound we knew was possible from our previous shootouts of the album. When finally one did, boy did it ever. 

Many of the notes you see below are the same as the ones we made for the last two shootouts we did. If you have a big speaker system and have taken advantage of the audio revolutions we discuss throughout the site, this is the kind of record that can help you chart your progress. When a record like this blows everything you’ve ever heard out of the water, you are definitely on the right track.

(more…)

Bad Company – Straight Shooter (UK Press)

More of the Music of Bad Company

  • A Straight Shooter like you’ve never heard, with KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it from first note to last – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • If you’re playing this one good and loud, you’ll feel like you’re in the room with the boys as they kick out these classic riff-driven jams
  • Take it from us, it is not easy to find a copy like this that’s doing just about everything right, with the weight, balance and energy this music needs to rock
  • 4 stars: “Vocalist and songwriter Paul Rodgers wrote two acoustic-based rock ballads that would live on forever in the annals of great rock history: ‘Shooting Star’ and the Grammy-winning ‘Feel Like Makin’ Love.'”

The sophomore jinx is nowhere to be found on this album. In fact, you could make a pretty good case that this is actually a better album than their debut. The best pressings of this Bad Company classic have ROCK ENERGY that cannot be beat. (more…)

Phil Manzanera / Diamond Head (Island Pressing)

More of the Music of Roxy Music

  • With two KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sides, this UK Island pressing is guaranteed to blow the doors off any other Diamond Head you’ve heard
  • Demo Disc quality sound barely begins to describe the size and power of this recording
  • This album is an amazing sonic blockbuster, with sound that will leap right out of your speakers like practically nothing you have every heard
  • A shockingly well-recorded album from the ultra-talented Rhett Davies – this is his engineering Masterpiece
  • Don’t waste your money on the UK Polydor reissues or the domestic pressings, or anything else for that matter – the right UK Island pressings are in a league of their own
  • Marks in the vinyl are sometimes the nature of the beast with these vintage LPs – those on “Lagrima” are especially bad – but if you can tough those out, this copy is going to blow your mind
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Phil Manzanera’s first post-Roxy foray into solo albums is a terrific all-star affair that still holds up enormously well. Calling on favors from Roxy members present and past, and those from the Cambridge/British art rock scene, Manzanera assembled a supergroup for every song.”

The wind is at your back here because this is one seriously well-recorded album. If this copy doesn’t wake up your stereo nothing will.

Like its brother, 801 Live, this album is an amazing sonic blockbuster, with sound that positively leaps out of the speakers. Why shouldn’t it? It was engineered by the superbly talented Rhett Davies at Island, the genius behind Taking Tiger Mountain, the aforementioned 801 Live, Avalon, Dire Straits’ first album, and many many more.

If we could regularly find copies of this Audiophile Blockbuster (and frankly, if more people appreciated the album) it would definitely go on our Top 100 Rock and Pop List. In fact, it would easily make the Top Twenty from that list, it’s that good.

Looking for Tubey Magic? Rhett Davies is your man. Just think about the sound of the first Dire Straits album or Avalon. The better pressings of those albums — those with truly Hot Stampers — are swimming in it.

(more…)

Count Basie – Basie Big Band

More of the Music of Count Basie

  • Both sides of this vintage pressing have seriously good sound for Basie’s Pablo label debut, earning Double Plus (A++) grades or BETTER
  • Basie Big Band is a top Basie big band title in every way – musically, sonically, you name it, this album has got it going on
  • Guaranteed to be dramatically livelier and more dynamic than any Basie title you’ve heard – if you like your brass big, rich and powerful, you came to the right place
  • Lots of tight, deep, note-like bass and unerringly correct timbre for the brass throughout

More Basie big band analog magic, this time from his 1975 debut for Pablo.

With 18 pieces in the studio (five trumpets!, four trombones!, five saxes!) this album can be a real powerhouse — if you have the right copy, and both sides here show you just how lively and dynamic this music can be. It’s got real Demo Disc qualities, no doubt about it.

When you get this record home, pay special attention to how natural and correct the timbre of the brass is. This is the hallmark of a well recorded album — it sounds right.

(more…)

Neil Young – Zuma

More of the Music of Neil Young

  • Boasting two outstanding Double Plus (A++) sides, this copy of Neil’s amazingly well recorded 1975 masterpiece is guaranteed to floor audiophiles and Neil Young fans alike – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • Zuma captures a kind of garage band purity that makes practically any other studio album you own sound processed and desiccated in comparison
  • For a hard-rockin’ Neil Young album with Demo Disc quality sound, you’ll have a hard time finding a better choice than a Hot Stamper pressing of Zuma
  • A Must Own Top 100 Title – just drop the needle on “Danger Bird” or “Cortez the Killer” to have your mind blown!

Can any one artist lay claim to two of the best sounding rock albums ever made? Neil Young can!

After the Gold Rush and Zuma are Demo Discs and super discs of the highest order, right up there with Tea for the Tillerman and Teaser and the Firecat, the other two albums by a single artist that deserve to be placed on that rarified plane.

Part of Zuma’s attraction is that it has exceptionally unprocessed sound that seems to have been recorded “live in the studio.”

The fact that Gold Rush and Zuma both involve Neil Young is doubtless not an accident. I would be very surprised to learn that he was not intimately involved with every aspect of the recording of both Masterpieces, from the miking to the final mix and every step in between.

(more…)

Joni Mitchell – The Hissing of Summer Lawns

More of the Music of Joni Mitchell

  • You’ll find INCREDIBLE Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it throughout this early Asylum pressing
  • Lots of Tubey Magic, textured synths, big bass and breathy vocals – this copy brings Joni’s jazzy folky fusion to life
  • Check out the big bottom end on “The Jungle Line,” which features the Drummers Of Burundi
  • Who made a more original, forward looking and interesting album in 1975 than this? I can’t think of anyone, can you?
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Joni Mitchell evolved from the smooth jazz-pop of Court and Spark to the radical Hissing of Summer Lawns, an adventurous work that remains among her most difficult records [as difficult as it is brilliant] … a strange and beautiful fusion of jazz and shimmering avant pop.”

Both sides here are airy, open, and spacious, with plenty of ambience. The bottom end is tight and punchy throughout with good solid weight, and the top end is silky sweet. Many copies of this album have a phony hi-fi “glare” that made us wince, but the sound here is warm and natural.

After hearing a few copies that bored us to tears years ago we had pretty much given up on finding good sound for this album, but once we found some truly hot Hot Stampers we found ourselves really enjoying this sophisticated Jazzy Folk Pop music.

(more…)

The Who – Who By Numbers

More of the Music of The Who

  • Who By Numbers returns to the site for only the second time in over three years, here with KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it on both sides of this vintage Polydor import pressing – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • Glyn Johns‘s magic is on display here, with open mics in a big studio space creating the 3D soundscapes we love
  • Features two of their most iconic songs, “Slip Kid” and “Squeezebox,” and both sound incredible on this copy
  • 4 stars – Rolling Stone raves: “They may have made their greatest album in the face of [their personal problems]. But only time will tell.”
  • These are the stampers that always win our shootouts, and when you hear them you will know why – the sound is big, rich and clear like no other
  • We’ve discovered a number of titles in which one stamper always wins, and here are some others
  • If you’re a Who fan, this title from 1975 is surely a Must Own.

(more…)

Aerosmith – Toys in the Attic

More of the Music of Aerosmith

  • An excellent copy of Aerosmith’s 1975 down-and-dirty blues-rock hit release with solid Double Plus (A++) sound or close to it from start to finish
  • Our favorite Aerosmith album in every way, and a true Must Own for fans of the band
  • We guarantee there is dramatically more Tubey Magic, size and rock and roll energy on this vintage copy than others you’ve heard (particularly on side one), and that’s especially true of whatever dead-as-a-doornail Heavy Vinyl disaster is out there now
  • This is one of only a handful of copies we’ve been able to offer in over a year, but once you drop the needle on “Walk This Way” you’ll hear it was worth the wait – it rocks like it’s never rocked before
  • 5 stars: “Aerosmith finally perfected their mix of Stonesy raunch and Zeppelin-esque riffing with their third album. The success of the album derives from a combination of an increased sense of songwriting skills and purpose.”

If you’re looking for great sound for this fun album, you’ve come to the right place. This is raw, down-and-dirty blues-rock in the tradition of the Stones and the Faces, and when it sounds this good it sure is a blast to listen to.

I never really cared much for this band until many years ag when I heard “Sweet Emotion” on my local classic rock station (The Octopus) and realized that it would probably sound pretty amazing on a Hot Stamper vinyl version. Boy, was I right! It took quite a few copies and a whole lot of work, but the best sounding tracks on this album sound amazing. “Sweet Emotion” and “Walk This Way” are going to rock like they have never rocked before.

(more…)

Little Feat – The Last Record Album

Hot Stamper Pressings of Personal Favorites Available Now

  • Here is a vintage copy with KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades or close to them on both sides – this is the best studio album the band ever recorded
  • The drums are rich and fat and deliciously analog, a perfect match for the sound of the album as a whole
  • Consistently strong songwriting with dramatically more emotionally powerful tracks than their other releases
  • Features great songs like “All That You Dream,” “Long Distance Love,” “Mercenary Territory” and more

The Last Record Album is one of our favorite Little Feat albums. The recording, by the estimable George Massenburg (working with Dave Hassinger), has many outstanding qualities. Among them is amazing bass; the bass goes really deep in places (“Long Distance Love”) and it’s big, punchy, rich and well up in the mix throughout the album.

The problem has always been an overly smooth top end, combined with congestion, smear, and a serious lack of presence. The good news is that if you clean enough copies with the advanced cleaning techniques we’ve developed, and you make enough improvements to your stereo, room, etc, with the right copy you can actually get this album to sound clear and rich.

(more…)